First Sergeant Richard Gano Jr. is a 23-year Army veteran and was deployed from 16 November 2003 through 23 October 2004 as the first sergeant for Bravo Troop, 1-14 Cavalry, 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division. Before deploying, he predicted that his greatest challenge would be soldiers' morale, based on his experience in Desert Storm. His unit's primary area of operations consisted of three areas: Samarra, Tall Afar and Logistics Support Area (LSA) Anaconda. Missions included convoy security from and border security near Syria and Tall Afar. In this interview, Gano discusses his unit's involvement in Operation Ivy Blizzard, reconstruction efforts, contractor selection and project management, interaction with the Coalition Provisional Authority. He also discusses Major General David Petraeus' funding initiatives and what eventually became of the collected funds. This leads into a discussion of corruption activities that occurred. Gano further explains how his commander had a newspaper printed, with Iraqi media in Tall Afar becoming actively involved. His unit's detainee facility was impacted by Abu Ghraib and he stated that, "The Abu Ghraib thing sort of backfired on a lot of us out there." Changes of command during the rotation were a bad thing for his unit with his new unit commander being viewed too much as a micromanager and implicitly not trusting his soldiers. Tactics, techniques and procedures for improvised explosive devices (IEDs) are discussed as well as lessons learned. He specifically addresses the importance and challenge of getting his soldiers back out on missions after a casualty occurred and being culturally aware of your surroundings. Finally, his most important lesson he emphasizes is the importance of teamwork.

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